PAPERS 

OF  THE 

School  of  Antiquity 

UNIVERSITY  EXTENSION  SERIES 
NUMBER  THREE 


a  1=1  a 


Notes  on  Peruvian  Antiquities 


by 


FREDERICK  J.  DICK,  m.  inst.  c.  e. 

professor  of  astronomy  and  mathematics 
school  of  antiquity,  point  loma,  california 


Q    1=]     Q 


POINT   LOMA 

THE   ARYAN   THEOSOPiUCAL   PRESS 

DECEMBER     1915 


PAPERS 

OF  THE 

School  of  Antiquity 

UNIVERSITY  EXTENSION  SERIES 
NUMBER  THREE 


□    [=]    □ 


Notes  on  Peruvian  Antiquities 


by 


FREDERICK  J.  DICK,  m.inst.c.e. 

professor  of  astronomy  and  mathematics 
school  of  antiquity,  point  loma,  california 


□    (=1    □ 


POINT    LOMA 
THE  ARYAN  THEOSOPHICAL   Hi  l  33 

1)1  .  I  Mltl.K.    1915 


HPHE  SCHOOL  OF  ANTIQUITY  shall  be  an  Institution  where  the 
laws  of  universal  nature  and  equity  governing  the  physical,  mental, 
moral  and  spiritual  education  will  be  taught  on  the  broadest  lines. 
Through  this  teaching  the  material  and  intellectual  life  of  the  age  will 
be  spiritualized  and  raised  to  its  true  dignity;  thought  will  be  liberated 
from  the  slavery  of  the  senses ;  the  waning  energy  in  every  heart  will  be 
reanimated  in  the  search  for  truth ;  and  the  fast  dying  hope  in  the  prom- 
ise of  life  will  be  renewed  to  all  peoples. 

— From  the  School  of  Antiquity  Constitution, 
New  York,  1897 


NOTES  ON  PERUVIAN  ANTIQUITIES 


w§9fe2£s2£?§3 

IT 

MctHH 

HE  purpose  of  the  present  notes  on  Peruvian  antiqui- 
ties is  to  outline  the  general  nature  of  some  of  the 
problems  —  suggested  by  the  ruins,  known  history,  and 
traditions  of  Peru  —  that  still  await  solution.  These 
problems  may  be  found  to  bear  an  important  relation, 
not  only  to  American  history,  but  also  to  still  broader  questions  con- 
nected with  the  past  history  of  humanity. 

The  center  of  ancient  Inca  civilization  appears  to  have  lain  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Cuzco,  between  the  middle  and  eastern  chains 
of  the  Cordilleras,  amid  scenery  of  unsurpassed  grandeur;  while  the 
extent  of  the  empire  latterly  under  Inca  rule  was  in  length  nearly 
three  times  that  of  California.  In  the  valleys  of  the  Cuzco  region  the 
climate  and  products  are  like  those  of  Italy  and  Spain,  while  crops 
like  those  of  northern  Europe  are  found  in  the  more  elevated  plains 
and  ravines.  Above  that  level  are  Alpine  pasture  lands,  and  then  bleak 
regions,  rocky  peaks  and  everlasting  snow.  At  Quito,  once  under  the 
Incas,  there  is  a  mountain  just  on  the  equator,  whose  summit  is 
snow-capped  throughout  the  year;  Cuzco  is  about  11,500  feet  above 
the  sea. 

Lake  Titicaca,  250  miles  south  of  Cuzco,  is  12,500  feet  above  sea 
level.  Corn  will  not  ripen  in  the  basin  of  this  lake,  which  is  about 
300  miles  by  100  in  extent.  The  lake  itself  is  now  120  miles  by  40. 
Around  its  watershed  the  Cordilleras  attain  their  greatest  heights. 

According  to  Sir  Clements  Markham  the  most  ancient  human  re- 
mains discovered   in   Peru   is   the  mummy  exhumed  at  Tarapac   in 


2  PAPERS    OF    THE    SCHOOL    OF    ANTIQUITY 

1874.  It  lay  beneath  a  volcanic  formation  called  chuco  of  vast  anti- 
quity. With  the  body  were  cotton  twine,  a  woven  bag,  and  some  cobs  of 
maize.  The  perfection  to  which  the  cultivation  of  maize  and  potatoes 
had  been  brought  by  the  Peruvians,  and  their  domestication  of  the 
llama  and  alpaca  are,  Markham  says,  convincing  proofs  of  the  remote 
antiquity  of  this  civilization.  The  maize  at  Cuzco  has  stalks  fifteen 
feet  high,  and  grain  four  or  five  times  the  size  of  ordinary  maize  grain. 

The  extent  of  ancient  ruins  throughout  the  Andean  regions  and 
Central  America  was  very  fully  treated  of  by  Dr.  Heath  in  1878,  and 
an  account  thereof,  with  comments  by  H.  P.  Blavatsky,  will  be  found 
in  our  Spanish  magazine,  El  Sendero  Teosofico,  from  September  to 
December,  1912.  It  would  take  too  long  to  describe  a  tithe  of  these 
wonders.  There  are  three  main  types  of  pre-Inca  construction :  the 
polygonal  Cyclopean,  the  Tiahuanaco  styles,  and  the  pre-Inca  roads 
and  aqueducts.  One  of  these  roads  wound  along  the  Andean  heights 
all  the  way  from  Cuzco  to  Quito,  a  distance  of  fifteen  hundred  miles. 
It  was  macadamized,  had  many  huge  retaining  walls,  was  often  cut 
for  leagues  through  rock,  sometimes  to  a  depth  of  sixty  feet,  and  was 
evenly  graded,  necessitating  the  use  in  ravines  of  great  masses  of 
solid  masonry,  or  occasionally,  suspension  bridges.  Another  proceed- 
ed from  Cuzco  to  the  Pacific  coast  and  then  on  to  Quito.  The  wild 
route  of  the  former  made  the  work  a  more  difficult  one  than  can  be 
found  in  our  transcontinental  railroads.  A  suggestion  may  be  haz- 
arded that  the  Cyclopean  builders  were  not  wholly  unfamiliar  with  the 
art  of  tunneling.  As  to  this,  time  will  doubtless  show.  One  aqueduct 
alone  was  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  length.  The  main  roads 
referred  to  were  of  unknown  antiquity  in  the  time  of  the  Incas.  When 
Huayna  Capac  went  to  Quito  with  his  army,  he  found  it  necessary  to 
repair  them  at  some  points.  As  to  the  extent  of  walled  terraces,  often 
Cyclopean,  in  the  Andean  ravines,  Dr.  Heath  estimated  their  length 
sufficient  to  encircle  the  globe  ten  times,  and  he  considered  his  esti- 
mate below  the  mark.  That  there  are  also  innumerable  buried  cities 
is  something  admitting  of  little  doubt.  Professor  Bingham,  while 
pursuing  his  investigations  in  connexion  with  his  discovery  of  the 
remarkable  Inca  city  of  Machu  Picchu,  perched  on  top  of  a  mountain 
in  one  of  the  most  inaccessible  regions  of  the  Andes,  traveled  over 
about  ten  thousand  miles  of  country,  and  reported  that  they  had  but 
scratched  the  surface  of  Peruvian  antiquities. 

First  let  us  glance  at  the  nature  of  the  problem  presented  by  Peru- 


■a. 


ft 
o 

'-5 


- 


u 

N 


2 


u 


6<J 
S 


60 

to) 

o 
o 

£; 


2 


■r. 

u 


w 


x 


■ 


¥ 


maland  Phot. 
T<  IRS"  IS    AT     I  IAHUANAO  I 


.  .1 


** 


*--. 


1^ 


■    KMOtu 


<&■ 


lir 


■— =fc^< 


«# 


t-^J 


Ctnohl   i*     IMMtl 


^. -...*. i     M     *IM»»I^ 


*•** 


Qti«U«ft*  <•*  >tlooefc« 


Lomalnud  Photo.   &   Bngi 


Dcpt. 


LARGE    DRESSED    BLOCKS   OE    STONE    AT    L'UMAPUNGU,    A    RUINED   CTTV 

\K.\i;    TIAHUANACO 


NOTES    ON    PERUVIAN    ANTIQUITIES  3 

vian  polygonal  Cyclopean  construction.  The  fort  of  Sacsahuaman, 
near  Cuzco,  may  serve  for  an  object  lesson.  It  will  be  seen  that  the 
Incas  imitated  in  the  upper  walls  the  megalithic  work  beneath  of  their 
unknown  predecessors.  But  what  are  we  to  think  of  the  immense 
stones,  many  of  them  weighing  from  two  hundred  to  three  hundred 
tons,  to  be  seen  today  in  these  lower  ancient  walls?  The  human  fig- 
ures standing  beside  some  of  them  afford  a  better  idea  of  their  prodi- 
gious size  than  any  merely  arithmetical  statement.1  But  it  is  not  only 
their  size,  but  the  extraordinary  manner  in  which,  despite  their  poly- 
gonal and  varied  shapes,  they  were  accurately  cut  and  closely  fitted, 
that  excites  astonishment.  Some  of  them  are  known  to  possess  as 
many  as  twelve  faces.  Surely  it  is  self-evident  that  the  people  who 
handled  and  cut  such  blocks  in  the  way  they  did,  must  have  been  of 
considerable  stature,  and  have  owned  excellent  tools.  Were  it  but 
a  case  of  handling  one  or  two  such  blocks,  the  quarrying,  cutting,  and 
transportation  would  tax  the  resources  of  our  day.  But  when  we 
find  thousands  of  examples  of  this  extraordinary  style,  in  America, 
Etruria,  and  other  parts,  there  can  surely  be  but  one  conclusion. 

One  writer  says  that  the  platforms  on  which  the  great  stone  images 
are,  on  Easter  Island,  are  "  very  much  like  the  walls  of  the  Temple 
of  Pachacamac  or  the  ruins  at  Tiahuanaco  in  Peru,"  and  that  they 
are  in  this  identical  Cyclopean  style. 

"  Callao  was  submerged  in  1746,  and  entirely  destroyed.  Lima 
was  ruined  in  1678;  in  1746  only  20  houses  out  of  3000  were  left 
standing,  while  the  ancient  cities  in  the  Huatica  and  Lurin  valleys 
still  remain  in  a  comparatively  good  state  of  preservation.  San/\Ji- 
guel  de  Puiro,  founded  by  Pizarro  in  1531,  was  entirely  destroyed 
in  1855,  while  the  old  ruins  near  by  suffered  little.  Arequipa  was 
thrown  down  in  August,  1868,  but  the  ruins  near  show  no  change. 
In  engineering,  at  least,  the  present  may  learn  from  the  past,  as  we 
hope  to  show  it  may  in  most  things  else,"  wrote  H.  P.  Blavatsky 
in  1880. 

Here  we  shall  be  obliged  to  take  a  short  excursion  into  anthropo- 
logy. According  to  the  law  of  atavism,  if  in  our  own  day  we  occasion- 
ally find  men  and  women  from  seven  feet  to  even  nine  feet  and  eleven 
feet  high,  it  only  proves  that  there  was  a  time  when  nine  feet  and  ten 
feet  was  the  average  height  of  humanity,  even  in  our  latest  Indo-Eu- 

1.     Other  illustrations  of  Sacsahuaman  and  Ollantaytamho  will  be  found  in  the  numbers 
of  El  Scndero   Teosofico  above  mentioned. 


4  PAPERS    OF    THE    SCHOOL    OF    ANTIQUITY 

ropean  race.  But  as  science  is  in  the  habit  nowadays  of  thinking  in 
millions  of  years,  we  may  as  well  follow  the  fashion,  and  take  a  glance 
into  Miocene  times. 

The  Commentary  to  one  of  the  Stanzas  of  an  archaic  record,  to 
which  H.  P.  Blavatsky  had  access,  and  which  is  in  safe  keeping,  says 
that  after  the  Great  Flood  of  the  Third  Root-Race  (the  Eemurians) : 

Men  decreased  considerably  in  stature,  and  the  duration  of  their  lives  was 
diminished.  Having  fallen  down  in  godliness  they  mixed  with  animal  races, 
and  intermarried  among  giants  and  pigmies  (the  dwarfed  races  of  the  Poles).  .  . 
Many  acquired  divine,  more  —  unlawful  knowledge. 

Thus  were  the  Atlanteans  approaching  destruction  in  their  turn. 
Who  can  tell  how  many  geological  periods  it  took  to  accomplish  this 
fourth  destruction?  But  the  Stanza  goes  on  to  say,  and  this  brings 
us  to  Miocene  times,  about  four  million  years  ago : 

They  (the  Atlanteans)  built  great  images,  nine  yatis  high  (27  feet) — the 
size  of  their  bodies.  Lunar  fires  had  destroyed  the  land  of  their  fathers  (the 
Lemurians).     Water  threatened  the   fourth    (race). 

The  statues  found  by  Cook  on  Easter  Island  measured,  almost  all, 
twenty-seven  feet  in  height,  and  eight  feet  across  the  shoulders.  As  to 
how  the  records  just  referred  to  have  been  preserved,  there  is  no  time 
tonight  to  go  into  that  question.  The  two  volumes  of  The  Secret  Doc- 
trine have  been  published  for  nearly  thirty  years,  and  they  are  packed 
from  cover  to  cover  with  clues  for  devotees  of  Archaeology,  Astro- 
nomy, Chemistry,  Biology,  Electricity,  Magnetism,  Anthropology, 
Ethnology,  Philology,  and  other  sciences,  and  it  is  one  of  the  miracles 
of  the  times  we  live  in,  that  its  teachings  are  not  better  known,  or  at 
least  more  openly  acknowledged. 

In  Numbers,  c.  xviii,  11,  we  read  of  the  giants  Anakim.  In 
Deuteronomy,  c.  iii,  11,  we  read  of  Og,  a  king  who  was  nine  cubits 
high  (15  feet  4  inches),  and  four  wide.  Goliath  was  six  cubits  and 
a  span  in  height  (10  feet  7  inches).  India  had  her  Danavas  and 
Daityas;  Ceylon  her  Rakshasas;  Greece  her  Titans.  The  only  dif- 
ference between  the  Jewish  Scriptures  and  the  evidence  furnished  to 
us  by  Herodotus,  Diodorus  Siculus,  Homer,  Pliny,  Plutarch,  Philo- 
stratus,  etc.,  is  this :  While  the  pagans  mention  only  the  skeletons  of 
giants,  dead  untold  ages  before,  relics  that  some  of  them  had  per- 
sonally seen,  the  Bible  interpreters  unblushingly  demand  that  Geology 
and  Archaeology  should  believe,  that  several  countries  were  inhabited 
by  such  giants  in  the  days  of  Moses! 


NOTES    ON    PERUVIAN    ANTIQUITIES  5 

The  two  sculptured  torsos  now  shown,  which  stand  in  front  of  the 
church  at  Tiahuanaco  village,  and  which  are  evidently  portraits,  like 
those  on  Easter  Island,  belong  to  human  forms  about  12  feet  in 
height. 

Inasmuch  as  the  height  of  the  megalithic  gateway  to  Sacsahuaman 
fort  is  12  feet,  and  width  6  feet,  the  conclusion  is  natural  that  these 
two  torsos  at  Tiahuanaco  are  nothing  but  veritable  life-size  portraits 
of  two  of  the  megalithic  builders  of  Peru,  of  date  nearly  coeval  zvitli 
the  cataclysm  of  850,000  years  ago,  which  submerged  the  island  contin- 
ents of  Ruta  and  Daitya,  and  which  survives  in  the  Race-memory 
as  "  The  Flood."  These  torsos  probably  lay  buried  for  long  ages,  and 
were  thus  fairly  well  preserved. 

The  figure  next  shown,  also  near  Tiahuanaco,  is,  exclusive  of  the 
base,  about  7y2  feet  high.  I  shall  refer  to  the  details  of  this  symbolic 
statue  later  on.  Meantime  it  may  be  suggested  that  three  widely 
different  epochs  are  indicated  by  the  ruins  at  Tiahuanaco.  This,  of 
course,  is  one  of  the  problems  requiring  further  investigation. 

In  Markham's  latest  book,  The  Incas  of  Peru,  published  in  1910  — 
and  Markham  is  one  who  has  devoted  the  study  of  a  long  lifetime  to 
Peru  and  its  antiquities  —  he  says  of  Tiahuanaco : 

Such  a  region  is  only  capable  of  sustaining  a  scanty  population  of  hardy 
mountaineers  and  laborers.  The  mystery  consists  in  the  existence  of  ruins  of  a 
great  city  on  the  southern  side  of  the  lake,  the  builders  being  entirely  unknown. 

The  city  covered  a  large  area,  built  by  highly  skilled  masons,  and  with  the 
use  of  enormous  stones.  One  36  ft.  by  7  ft.  weighs  170  tons,  another  is  26  ft. 
by  16  by  6.  [Another  elaborately  and  accurately  dressed  stone,  seen  in  the  il- 
lustration, weighs  108  tons.]  Apart  from  the  monoliths  of  ancient  Egypt,  there 
is  nothing  to  equal  this  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  The  moving  and  placing 
of  such  monoliths  point  to  a  dense  population,  to  an  organized  government,  and 
consequently  to  a  large  area  under  cultivation,  with  arrangements  for  the  con- 
veyance of  supplies  from  various  directions.  There  must  have  been  an  organiza- 
tion combining  skill  and  intelligence  with  power  and  administrative  ability. 

The  point  next  in  interest  to  the  enormous  size  of  the  stones  is  the  excellence 
of  the  workmanship.  The  lines  are  accurately  straight,  the  angles  correctly 
drawn,  the  surfaces  true  planes.  The  upright  monoliths  have  mortices  and 
projecting  ledges  to  retain  the  horizontal  slabs  in  their  places,  which  completed 
the  walls.  The  carvings  are  complicated,  and  at  the  same  time  well  arranged, 
and  the  ornamentation  [symbolism,  he  means]  is  accurately  designed  and  ex- 
ecuted. Not  less  striking  are  the  statues  with  heads  adorned  with  curiously 
shaped  head-dresses.  Flights  of  stone  steps  have  recently  been  discovered,  for 
the  ancient  city,  now  several  miles  from  the  lake,  was  once  upon  its  borders. 
Remarkable  skill  on  the  part  of  the  masons  is  shown  by  every  fragment  lying 


6  PAPERS    OF    THE    SCHOOL    OF    ANTIQUITY 

about.  Such  are  the  angle-joints  of  a  stone  conduit;  a  window-frame  of  careful 
workmanship  with  nine  apertures,  all  in  one  piece;  and  numerous  niches  and 
moldings.  There  is  ample  proof  of  the  very  advanced  stage  reached  by  the 
builders  in  architectural  art.2 

It  appears  that  at  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  Bartolome 
Cervantes,  a  canon  of  Chuquisaca,  gave  to  Oliva,  who  wrote  a  history 
of  the  Jesuits  in  Peru,  a  manuscript  dictated  by  Catari,  a  quipumayoc, 
or  keeper  of  the  records,  in  which  manuscript  the  statement  is  made 
that  no  judgment  can  be  formed  of  the  size  of  the  ruined  city,  because 
nearly  all  was  built  underground.  And  Markham  adds  that  Professor 
Nestler  of  Prague  has  proceeded  to  Tiahuanaco  with  the  object  of 
making  researches  by  the  light  of  the  account  of  Catari. 

In  The  Theosophicai,  Path  of  July  last  will  be  found  a  reference 
to  some  of  Professor  Nestler's  work  there,  but  he  appears  to  have  been 
unable  to  prosecute  his  investigations,  for  some  reason.  The  remark- 
able statement  of  Catari  only  serves  to  heighten  our  interest  in  what 
Tiahuanaco  may  conceal. 

Geologically,  the  Andes  are  comparatively  modern.  The  bones  of 
a  mastodon  have  been  discovered  at  Ulloma,  in  Bolivia,  which  is  now 
13,000  feet  above  the  sea.  In  the  deserts  of  Tarapaca  are  numerous 
skeletons  of  gigantic  ant-eaters,  whose  habitat  is  a  dense  forest.  When 
the  Andes  were  lower,  the  trade  wind  could  carry  its  moisture  over 
them  to  the  strip  of  coast  land  which  is  now  an  arid  desert.  When 
mastodons  lived  at  Ulloma,  and  ant-eaters  in  Tarapaca,  the  Andes, 
slowly  rising,  were  some  two  or  three  thousands  of  feet  lower  than 
they  are  now.  '  If  the  megalithic  builders  were  living  under  these 
conditions,"  says  Markham,  "  the  problem  is  solved,  for  maize  would 
then  ripen  in  the  basin  of  Lake  Titicaca,  and  the  site  of  the  ruins  of 
Tiahuanaco  could  support  the  necessary  population." 

But  if  the  megalithic  Cyclopean  belongs  to  an  epoch  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  years  back,  it  is  certain  that  the  monolithic  doorways  at 
Tiahuanaco  belong  to  a  far  later  period.  The  height  of  the  doorways 
is  sufficient  evidence,  it  appears  to  me,  that  these  belong  to  some  time 
anywhere  between  say  10,000  and  80,000  years  ago;  and  if  it  could 
be  shown  that  the  Andes  were  say  3000  feet  lower  within  about  these 
time  limits,  we  should  have  the  approximate  date,  at  least,  of  these 
doorways.    The  people  in  the  elevated  province  of  Huarochiri  had  an 

2.     Besides   the    fourth   plate   now   given,   illustrations    were    Plates   26,    37,    38,    39   in 
Die  Ruinenstatfe  von  Tiahuanaco,  by  Stubel  and  Uhle,   Leipsic, 


NOTES    ON    PERUVIAN    ANTIQUITIES  7 

actual  tradition  that  in  remote  times  it  possessed  a  climate  similar  to 
that  of  the  coast  valleys. 

Tradition  throws  another  peculiar  light,  which  one  cannot  ignore, 
on  conditions  once  prevailing  in  that  region.  Markham  suggests  that 
the  Pirua  and  Amauta  dynasties  may  possibly  represent  the  sovereigns 
of  the  megalithic  empire,  whose  decline  and  fall  was  followed  by  long 
centuries  of  barbarism,  so  that  the  people  had  almost  forgotten  its 
existence,  while  the  tribes  of  the  Collao  were  probably  of  another  race. 

This  at  least  suggests  a  continuous  link  through  which  ancient 
traditions  might  descend.  The  tradition  now  to  be  referred  to  was, 
so  to  say,  dramatised  by  the  lady  Siuyaco,  when  she  caused  her  son 
to  appear,  clad  in  shining  gold,  before  the  Incas  on  Sacsahuaman  hill, 
who  hailed  him,  Inca  Rocco,  as  ruler  thenceforth. 

Now  this  is  the  tradition.  In  Cieza's  Cronica  del  Peru,  c.  103, 
we  read: 

Certain  Indians  relate  that  it  was  of  a  surety  affirmed  by  their  ancestors  that 
there  was  no  light  for  many  days,  and  that  all  being  in  darkness  and  obscurity, 
the  Sun  appeared  resplendent  on  the  island  of  Titicaca. 

Again,  in  vol.  ii,  c.  5,  the  Indians  are  reported  as  saying  that, 

far  preceding  the  time  of  the  Incas,  there  was  once  a  long  period  without  seeing 
the  Sun,  and  enduring  great  labor  by  reason  of  this  deprivation,  the  people  made 
great  offerings  and  supplications  to  those  they  held  as  gods,  begging  the  light 
they  needed ;  and  that  being  in  this  condition,  there  appeared  on  the  island  of 
Titicaca,  in  the  midst  of  the  great  lake  of  Collao,  the  Sun  most  resplendent,  at 
which  all  rejoiced. 

This  points  to  a  time  when  the  Earth's  axis  more  or  less  coincided 
with  the  plane  of  the  ecliptic,  more  than  400,000  years  ago,  when 
there  must  have  been  darkness  for  a  good  while  each  year  at  the 
place. 

Here  we  have  Inca  tradition  corroborating  what  was  taught  in  the 
temples  of  ancient  Egypt.  Thus  Tiahuanaco  suggests  another  prob- 
lem: Do  we  moderns  understand  the  forces  which  control,  or  do  wo 
know  all  about,  the  movements  of  the  Earth  ? 

The  next  problem  is  in  regard  to  the  symbolism  at  Tiahuanaco. 
Was  it  related  in  any  way  to  the  religious  belief,  as  it  is  called,  of  the 
Incas,  or  can  any  connexion  be  traced?  If  fundamental  belief  is  best 
shown  by  character  and  deeds,  what  was  it  that  mainly  characterized 
their  civilization?     Says  Markham: 


8  PAPERS    OF    THE    SCHOOL    OF    ANTIQUITY 

Their  name  for  the  Supreme  meant  — "  The  Splendor,  the  Foundation,  the 
Creator,  the  Infinite  God,"  which  shows  the  sublimity  of  thought  attained  by  the 
ancient  Peruvians  in  their  conception  of  a  Supreme  Being  —  the  infinite  cause, 
the  fundamental  principle,  the  light  of  the  world,  the  great  teacher. 

Under  the  Inca  system  all  who  could  work  were  obliged  to  work,  all  lived 
in  comfort,  and  there  was  ample  provision  for  the  aged,  for  young  children,  and 
for  the  sick.  No  money  was  necessary,  for  every  family  had  a  right  to  everything 
needed  for  the  nourishment  and  well-being  of  its  members,  from  the  market, 
without  payment.  In  case  of  disaster  to  any  community,  caused  by  weather, 
accident,  or  an  enemy,  the  neighboring  villagers  repaired  all  damages,  and  gave 
all  needful  help.  So  perfect  was  the  Inca  organization  that  it  continued  to  work 
efficiently,  and  almost  mechanically,  for  some  time  after  the  guiding  heads  had 
been  struck  down,  by  the  Spaniards.  Under  such  a  system  there  could  be  no  want, 
for  thought  was  taken  for  the  nourishment  and  comfort  of  every  creature. 
There  was  hard  work,  while  provision  was  made  not  only  for  rest,  but  also  for 
recreation. 

Not  only  did  they  greatly  prefer  the  arts  of  peace  to  those  of  war,  but  among 
them  the  injunction  of  all  the  Great  Teachers  of  Antiquity,  to  love  and  serve 
one  another,  was  raised  to  the  rank  of  an  everyday  practical  precept. 

The  Incas  had  many  things  we  associate  with  the  idea  of  culture. 
They  used  no  money,  but  some  of  their  buildings  were  surrounded  by 
gardens  of  flowers  with  numbers  of  llamas  and  shepherds,  life-size, 
all  made  out  of  pure,  solid  gold.  The  walls  and  floors  of  some  of  their 
palaces  and  temples  were  lined  with  solid  gold.  Their  art  work  in 
gold  and  silver  was  something  amazing.  One  would  have  to  go  back 
to  the  cities  Plato  tells  of,  that  belonged  to  later  Atlantean  times,  to 
find  a  parallel  to  conditions  actually  existing  in  Peru  within  what  we 
call  the  historic  period.  The  Incas  had  their  sacrificers,  speakers, 
hermits,  performers  of  family  ceremonies,  soothsayers,  diviners, 
bards,  reciters  of  history,  musical  composers  for  string  and  wind  in- 
struments, dramatic  authors,  dancers,  recorders,  accountants,  design- 
ers of  art  work,  architects,  workers  in  metal,  and  so  on.  In  fact  their 
activities  were  endless.  They  had  their  festivals  at  the  same  time  as 
the  peoples  of  the  Far  East,  that  is,  at  the  equinoxes  and  solstices, 
and  for  excellent  reasons,  too. 

Possibly  this  picture  of  an  Inca,  surviving  at  the  present  day, 
may  help  us  to  realize  what  must  have  been  the  character  of  this 
noble  race  before  it  was  finally  stupefied  into  apathy  through  the 
horrors  perpetrated  by  the  gold-worshiping  Europeans. 

Some  of  the  Inca  pottery  is  now  shown.3    The  next  picture  shows 

3.     Plate  41  in  Die  Ruinenstatte  von  Tiahuanaco, 


NOTES    ON    PERUVIAN    ANTIQUITIES  9 

two  of  the  many  specimens  of  pottery  made  by  their  neighbors,  or 
possibly  predecessors,  in  Chimu.4  The  discoverer  of  the  Chimu  pot- 
tery in  the  Chimcana  Valley,  Mr.  T.  H.  Meyring,  placed  its  date  as  at 
least  7000  years  ago,  while  some  think  12,000  would  be  nearer  the 
truth.  There  are  many  heads,  statuettes,  and  vessels  ornamented  with 
heads;  and  the  most  remarkable  thing  is  revealed  by  the  portraiture, 
which  is  undoubtedly  what  we  call  Aryan.  These  artifacts  exhibit  not 
only  great  refinement  of  type  and  of  coloring,  but  very  considerable 
variety,  imagination,  originality,  and  humor. 

This  piece  of  an  ancient  tapestry  from  the  great  Inca  necropolis 
of  Ancon,  proves  an  unmistakable  link  to  have  existed  between  the 
supra-physical  teachings  known  to  the  Incas  at  one  time,  and  those 
of  the  earlier  builders  of  the  Temple  of  Ak-kapana  at  Tiahuanaco. 
I  use  the  word  supra-physical,  because  "  metaphysical  "  suggests  lit- 
tle more  nowadays  than  a  kind  of  intellectual  gymnastics,  instead  of 
actual  knowledge  of  inner  nature.  That  we  have  an  inner  subtile 
body,  in  which  are  the  real  organs  of  perception  and  action,  constitut- 
ing a  link  between  the  soul  (through  thought  and  will)  and  the  objec- 
tive world,  was  known  to  many  Incas  and  Aztecs.  This  symbolic  tapes- 
try is  one  proof.  In  the  original,  the  meaning  was  accentuated  by  the 
use  of  various  colors. 

This  reproduction  of  an  Aztec  design  on  deerskin,  possesses  also 
some  points  of  correspondence  with  Tiahuanaco  symbolism.  While 
largely  astronomical,  we  find  twice  depicted,  accurately  and  unmis- 
takably, the  sacred  Tetrad,  or  Tetraktys,  an  ancient  and  universal 
symbol,  as  to  which  much  is  written  in  The  Secret  Doctrine. 

The  monolithic  door  at  Tiahuanaco  is  famous  among  all  archaeo- 
logists.5 On  the  interior  side  is  the  remarkable  and  most  carefully 
executed  symbolic  design,  which  has  long  been  one  of  the  interesting 
puzzles  of  archaeology.  The  monolith,  which  weighed  nine  tons  in 
its  finished  state,  was  broken  across,  probably  during  a  severe  earth- 
quake. It  was  in  fact  completely  overturned,  and  to  this,  fortunatelv. 
is  due  the  very  perfect  preservation  of  detail,  during  what  must  have 
been  an  immense  period  of  time.  The  eastern  face,  seen  in  the  first 
picture,  lay  uppermost,  and  has  plain  traces  of  its  lengthy  exposure 
to  the  elements. 

4.  See  numbers  of  El  Scndcro   Teosofico  before  mentioned. 

5.  See  illustrations  in  Tin:  Tiikosophical  Path   for  July,  1915,  accompanying  ''Studies 
jn  Symbolism,"  III. 


10  PAPERS    OF    THE    SCHOOL    OF    ANTIQUITY 

The  next  picture  shows  the  detail  of  the  central  figure,  and  with 
some  of  the  others  is  taken  from  Stiibel  and  Uhle's  splendid  work, 
Die  Ruinenstdtte  von  Tiahuanaco* 

H.  P.  Blavatsky  pointed  out  in  The  Secret  Doctrine  that  there  is 
not  an  old  fragment  but  shows  belief  in  a  multiform  and  even  multi- 
genetic  evolution,  and  unless  I  am  greatly  mistaken  we  have  here  a 
fragment  which  proves  this  fairly  conclusively,  provided  we  admit 
that  it  represents  neither  a  human  king,  nor  an  idol,  nor  an  anthropo- 
morphic deity,  but  that  it  stands  simply  —  a  symbol  of  the  divine- 
human  race. 

The  principles  in  Man,  potential  and  actual,  are  typified  radiating 
around  the  head,  and  in  other  ways,  in  conformity  with  the  teachings 
of  the  ancient  Wisdom-Religion.  The  dual  ascending  and  descending 
evolution  and  involution  appears  to  be  indicated  by  the  puma-  and 
condor-headed  scepters  in  either  hand.  There  are  astronomical  mean- 
ings, by  the  laws  of  correspondence.  The  Aeon  reached  is  suggested 
by  the  shape  of  the  head  and  of  the  three  inner  planes  from  which  it 
protrudes.  The  Root-Race  of  this  Aeon  passed  and  completed,  is 
shown  by  the  left  hand  covering  the  fourth  division  of  the  scepter; 
while  the  right  hand  and  scepter  shows  that  the  Fifth  has  commenced, 
with  two  more  still  to  come. 

The  surrounding  figures  indicate  the  distinction  drawn  between  the 
higher  principles  and  the  lower.  Notice  the  central  position  of  the 
eye.  An  article  on  this  topic  will  be  found  in  the  November  number 
of  The  Theosophical  Path.     A  winged  figure  surrounds  the  eye. 

Notice  the  distinct  manner  in  which  the  idea  of  ascending  evolu- 
tion is  indicated,  in  the  middle  group  of  figures. 

The  next  illustration  shows  detail  of  frieze  below,  which  among 
other  things  appears  to  typify  the  solar  powers,  and  the  fourfold 
powers  ruling  manifested  nature.  A  definite  cycle,  or  rather  suc- 
cession of  cycles,  seems  also  to  be  implied,  beginning  and  re-entering 
at  the  divisions  indicated. 

The  Chavin  stone  of  diorite,  now  at  Lima,  is  seen  in  the  next  pic- 
ture.7 It  is  twenty-five  feet  long,  and  weighs  forty-five  tons.  It 
was  found  in  the  Maranon  Valley.  Belonging  to  megalithic  times, 
its  date  is  of  course  at  present  unknown.  The  symbolism  is  totally 
different  in  treatment,  and  clearly  betokens  a  different  race.     But 

6.  Plates  5,  8,   11,   13,   15,   17,   18,   19. 

7.  See  The  Incas  of  Peru,  by  Sir  Clements  Markham, 


■             '• 

1 

1  / 

v  \  V 

1   ""  >  •• 

[1 

S* 

Lomaland  ing  Deft. 


AN    [NCA   OF    Ten  \Y 


■e. 


o 

s; 

5 


c 
u 

fa 
•/. 

3 

« 

w 


■f. 


- 

6 

S 


• 
t> 

0 

0 
o 

o 

c 


> 


o 

« 
• 

o 

o 

© 

o 

• 
o 
■• 

0 

n 

: 


'- 


VI 


rsonaoor 


'^c^wri*' 


;•••!*•••. 


^v 


.*« 


8 


•Of 


~T 


n 


~      1a : 


A 


;.* 


ft  —^"ts^r  ^* 


O 


Vv 


t"     V 


to 


•v,,. 


M< 


ViJi 


■ 


*>: 


.    ■ 


JT-1 


•  «099«900t069«f*>       ©•      J'-»  'f  OC<C>Q>  >•♦ 


bo 

ft) 


25 


v. 


25 


- 


Lomaland  Photo.   &  Engraving  Dept. 
STATUE     AT     AK-KAPANA.     TIAHUANACO 


NOTES    ON    PERUVIAN    ANTIQUITIES  11 

the  subject  matter  is  identical,  and  in  some  respects  grander,  than  at 
Tiahuanaco,  if  that  be  possible.  There  appears  to  be  a  reference,  too 
to  the  forces  controlling  rotation  and  axial  changes,  as  was  also  found 
by  Cambyses  in  an  Egyptian  temple. 

The  statue  now  shown  is  at  Tiahuanaco.  It  is  especially  notewor- 
thy in  portraying,  almost  humorously,  in  a  simple  but  most  effective 
manner,  the  main  teaching  of  Antiquity,  namely,  that  humanity  is 
the  subject  of  both  evolution  and  involution  —  Involution  of  the  high- 
er spiritual  and  mental  powers  descending  at  a  certain  epoch  from 
above  —  or  rather,  from  within :  and  Evolution  of  the  physical  and 
astral  vehicles  which  constitute  the  lower  nature,  ascending  from 
beneath  —  or  from  without,  that  is,  the  regions  of  objectivity. 

This  duality  is  emphasized  by  the  belt  of  flame,  beneath  which  is 
depicted  the  garment  of  the  objective,  composed  of  minute  lives  — 
only  imperfectly  conceived  by  us  moderns  as  atoms  or  electrons  — 
which  underlie  and  build  up  all  living  and  material  forms.  Their 
true  supra-physical  nature  is  typified  by  the  detail  shown  in  the  next 
picture8 —  threefold  on  the  spiritual  side,  and  fourfold  on  the  ob- 
jective. 

The  objects  found  at  Tiahuanaco  —  models  of  various  kinds  — 
shown  in  the  next  picture,9  may  be  conjectured  to  have  been  used  in 
the  temple  teachings,  regarding  stages  in  Man's  evolution  and  in- 
volution.   Their  symbolical  character  is  evident. 

8.  Plate   31a,   Die   Ruinenstatte   von    Tiahuanaco. 

9.  Plate  32,  ibid. 


SCHOOL  OF  ANTIQUITY— UNIVERSITY  EXTENSION  COURSE 

The;  foregoing  paper  is  the  third  lecture  of  a  University  Extension  Course, 
inaugurated  by  Mme.  Katherine  Tingley  under  the  auspices  of  the  School  of 
Antiquity,  of  which  she  is  Foundress  and  President.  The  address  was  delivered 
in  Isis  Theater,  San  Diego,  on  October  10th,  1915. 

The  course  includes  lectures  by  different  professors  and  students  of  the 
School  of  Antiquity,  and  other  prominent  speakers  of  the  city  of  San  Diego,  upon 
Archaeology,  Art,  Peruvian  and  Central  American  Antiquities,  China  and  the 
Far  East,  in  earlier  and  later  times,  Egyptology,  History,  Psychology,  Sociology, 
Law,  Higher  Education,  Literature,  Biology,  Music  and  Drama.  Many  of  the 
lectures  are  illustrated,  from  original  and  other  material  in  the  collections  of 
the  School  of  Antiquity  and  elsewhere. 

Besides  the  foregoing  paper,  the  following  are  now  also  in  course  of  publica- 
tion in  the  present  series : 

The  Spirit  of  the  Hour  in  Archaeology :  a  comparison  of  present  biological  and 
archaeological  methods  and  results;  by  William  E.  Gates,  Professor  of 
American  Archaeology  and  Linguistics,  School  of  Antiquity. 

The  Relation  of  Religion  to  Art  in  Antiquity  and  the  Middle  Ages,  by  Osvald 
Siren,  Professor  of  the  History  of  Art,  University  of  Stockholm,  Sweden. 

Prehistoric  Aegean  Civilisation  (illustrated),  by  F.  S.  Darrow,  ph.  d.,  Professor 
of  Greek  in  the  School  of  Antiquity. 

Early  Chinese  Painting  (illustrated),  by  Prof.  William  E.  Gates. 

Others  will  follow  in  due  course. 


The  Aryan  Thbosophical  Press 
Point  Loma,  California 


